An Italian priest was excommunicated
Tuesday for calling Pope Francis a "usurper" in his New Year's
Eve homily marking the first anniversary of the death of
Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI.
Don Ramon Guidetti, a parish priest at Livorno on the Tuscan
coast, was excommunicated by his local bishop for telling his
flock that the Argentine pontiff, who took over after German
pope Benedict sensationally quit in February 2013, "is not the
pope, he's a usurper".
Father Guidetti said later Tuesday that it was a "mark of pride
to be out of this Church, which is a tyranny".
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